A horse used to draw a cart. (In first quot. transl. bigalis ‘horse drawing two-wheeled chariot.’ Now, a large thick-set horse used for heavy work.)
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVIII. xli. (1495), 802. Charyotte horse were ordeyned and halowed to the sonne, and carte horse were halowyd to the mone.
1483. Cath. Angl., 55. A carte hors; veredus, caballus.
1535. Coverdale, 1 Kings iv. 26. Salomon had fortye thousande cart horses, and twolue thousande horsmen.
1623. J. Taylor (Water P.), World on Wheeles, Wks. II. 235/2. Scarse any Coachhorse in the world doth know any letter in the Booke, when as euery Carthorse doth know the letter G very vnderstandingly.
1813. Macaulay, in Life & Lett. (1880), I. 47–8. I will work like a cart-horse.
